A man on a bicycle was severely injured Saturday afternoon when he was struck by a blue Toyota Avalon at the intersection of Chatham Parkway and Ogeechee Road, according to Savannah-Chatham police.

First responders were called to the busy West Chatham intersection, where they found the bicyclist badly injured. The cyclist was taken to Memorial University Medical Center for treatment, said Gena Moore, metro police spokeswoman.

Metro police traffic investigators closed down a 1,000-yard stretch of Ogeechee so they could gather evidence and take measurements, Moore said. By about 3:30 p.m., the roadway had partially reopened.

Witnesses at the scene said the cyclist appeared to come out of nowhere, taking the driver of the Toyota by surprise.

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What do you mean to cyclist came out of nowhere?? Did a time portal open up and "POOF" the cyclist magically appeared? Was the cyclist Marty McFly? Did Dr. Brown make a bicycle time machine? Hey, I have a great idea, watch the road when you are driving. Stop texting while driving! The driver should be changed with vehicular homicide.

It's really bold for someone to post something so uneducated and stupid. Number one the report says that the bicyclist crossed into the highway where there are...say it with me: MOVING VEHICLES! There is an appropriate place for them to ride bikes, and it's not in the highway where vehicles are driving! And for you to say this poor elderly lady should be charged with vehicular homicide? I wish you'd give me your name and number, because the second you mess up one time i want to be right there to scold you and make you feel like a horrible person! Geez, there are too many people like you in this world! Grow up before you post uneducated comments! And fyi you're jokes are not funny, and i doubt a 60 year old woman was texting! UGH!!

I just don't get it. What does it matter on the age of the women who hit the bicyclist? Do you realize between the ages of 24 & 28 the percentages of accidents are greater then the ages 55 to 85... Look only 4 yrs between 24 & 28 and if you can keep up with me how many years are there between 55 & 85? In reality the younger you are the more accidents you have.

What a shame this is. That is a dangerous intersection because of drivers and bicyclists. The thing that really makes it bad is a lot of cyclists think they are above the law of the road. In the stat of Georgia they are subject to the same laws as a motor vehicle. Granted they cannot travel as fast as a motor vehicle but they must still ride down the right hand lane in the same direction of traffic on the shoulder. If there is a bicycle lane that should be used. They should use hand signals to let others know what they are doing. Granted most drivers do not know these signals anyway nor do they see them most of the time anyway.

But when you do not see the bike to begin with they do appear to come out of nowhere. They do not take up much room and do not have any lights or anything like that to catch your attention. Riding a bike on a 4 lane road is also not advisable to begin with, even though I believe Oggeechee road is designated as a bicycle route. Just like that lawyer talking about cars getting hit by big trucks. It is easy to see who is going to lose. The physical law of tonnage will normally win.

Sorry that a cyclist got hit but chances are he he was in the wrong. Not saying he was, but if you watch the cyclists around here whether it is downtown or any place else. It only takes a few bad cyclists to give the rest of them a bad name, just like any group.

Overall bicyclists need to do like motorcyclists and be extra careful, drivers are not really watching for you.

We've got details from witnesses who watched the incident unfold. Check back at savannahnow.com for Sunday's final edition to the incident. Or pick up a hard copy of the paper from locations across the Coastal Empire.

You guys act like these are leisurely bikers out for their 5 mile bike ride. Most of the ones out on the west side are a bunch of drunks that dart or fall into traffic. These are not the bikers with the several hundred dollar bikes and the shorts and helmets and such. They are just trying to get to and from the liquor store and back to the trailer park. ( if they are not homeless.) I have firsthand experience with several of the fatal car vs. bicyclists accidents out that way. Sometimes it is the drivers fault, but more often than not it is the bicyclists fault. just sayin.

The State of Georgia, in an initiative to encourage bicycle commuting has a "Share the Road" program. Highway 17/ Ogeechee Road/ The Coastal Highway, has a bicycle lane on the right side of right lane/the left side of the shoulder. If you are going to make a turn left from the Bicycle Lane on Highway 17, you'll have to,,, stay with me here, cross over to the left lane. Georgia Law prohibits bicycles from riding on sidewalks, so bicyclists are required to ride on the road and obey traffic laws. If I had a dollar for every one who obeyed the speed limit on Highway 17, I'd have about a dollar.

My father was killed on Ogeechee Rd last year, and I really think that the person who made the statement about drunks and trailers, I think it just shows how ignorant you are because you don't know anything about these people nor do you know how many of their family members read the dumb things people like you write. As far as everything that is on or in the news its not always true and some things are only wrote or told from one side. Never throw stones at anyone unless your living in a glass house, because karma can come back and bite you in the butt !!

Where in this story does it say the cyclist was a drunk, probably homeless, but definitely lives in a trailor? Where does it say the driver of the car was texting and has "affected" peripheral vision? And when did we start charging people with homicide when nobody is killed? Is that just wishful thinking Mp?

Wow! It only took ONE HOUR to move from this eye witness account: "'We slowed down because he started to truck toward the middle of the road - it looks like the lady didn't see him,' Tomko said..."
to
"Witnesses at the scene said the cyclist appeared to come out of nowhere..."

Disclaimer: I'm proud to be a close relative of the Tomkos, but this response isn't about them as individuals. It's about responsible reporting.

That said, I believe the Tomkos' training and first responder experience as fireman and ER nurse might qualify them to be worthy of at least a "casual nod" from the second reporter as a plausible theory, rather than having their testimony totally discounted in favor of subscribing to the "epiphany" theory falsely presented as the unified witness statement!

Take heed, America; this simple revisionist approach to the idea of a "witness" is the tactic applied to American history in the public arena, including the majority of public school classrooms you're about to send your children to. Words matter.

How do you know I didn't talk to other witnesses at the scene before conducting an interview with Tomko? Perhaps I stuck with the stories of Tomko and the driver's son and left the other accounts out of the final story.

Keep up the good work! Some of us know you do a superb job! You get your facts before reporting the whole story. Sometimes, understandably, you must leave out pertinent facts, and sometimes, the whole story is really none of our business, police must conclude investigations, etc, etc.

Shame on you! LOL! Not trying to suck up, I really like the man's work. Is that so wrong? Arek investigated and reported a very important story last week. He could not give out the details and in a newspaper that had to be hard.

What's your function! Ok, so we've already assumed that a 60 year old lady was texting, that the biker is dead, that the reported of this story just made most of the details up, and that the biker was a drunk from the trailer park! How about it was a accident, nothing more, nothing less, as accidents really do happen. And it is the cops job to determined fault, not ours!